Welcome! This year, I'm supplementing my student specific information for teachers with some additional reading/videos/tools that will help you support our shared student. That should reduce all of the paperwork I give to you and allow me to give you quick access to related videos.
Blindness Etiquette I shared the video of Jane Flower (from Guide Dogs for the Blind) last year during our first staff meeting but it's a good one to review. I'll also be sending you a video that our student made that also has a blindness etiquette component.
Room Setup Guidance
Before school begins, it is helpful to arrange a time for the student to work with the orientation and mobility instructor or myself on orientation to the new classroom. Doing this without other students in the room will allow the student to better process the layout of his or her new classroom.
When assigning a cubby or mailbox, consider giving the student the first cubby so that he or she can easily find it.
The student's orientation and mobility instructor) will come by to put up a cane hook by the door). She will also show you how to safely give sighted guide to your student and will go over the emergency plan with you. Here's an instructional video about thesighted guide technique as well.
Additional storage will be required in the classroom. This usually means having two desks since he or she will have more tools (ex. adapted math tools, paper, Braille Writer, etc.). An extra drawer or half of a cabinet in the classroom is also useful for the vision staff so that we can pull out materials to make tactile graphics on the fly, etc.
If you do rearrange the classroom, just make sure that you warn us so that we can find a time to reorient him or her to the new setup when other students are not in the room.
We will bring a carpet square for any carpet sitting time that you may have. This will help the student locate a good location to sit with the class.
Overview of Accommodations/Modifications The "IEP at a Glance" document that I give you for your student will list the specific accommodations and modifications that your student will be using. Some of these will include tools such as: Braille textbooks and reading books, Braille Note Touch (a note taking device with a braille display; please see this description of the Braille Note Touch), Perkins Braille Writer,math tools, abacus, tactile number line, and real objects such as coins. A source for many of our adapted materials is the American Printing House for the Blind's catalog (looking through their online catalog can be fun).
Inservices At the beginning of the school year, it is helpful to provide an inservice to a student's classmates to educate the students and provide a space for questions to be asked. The student with low vision generally helps me determine what activities will be completed during the inservice. An hour is ideal and it is also useful to schedule it for the first week or two of school. A plan for a past inservice has been provided so that you can get a better sense of how it is generally organized.
Braille I certainly don't expect you to learn braille (although some teachers find it really fun to learn the basics). Here is some basic information about braille:
How Braille Works (this article has some really interesting information but please note that the US transitioned from English Braille American Edition to Unified English Braille in January, 2016 and the article does not have updated information).
Supporting Social Skills Because so many things are done for students with visual impairments (and because so many people and things come to them without effort), there is an inherent risk that students with visual impairments will become egocentric, fail to understand the perspectives of others, and not get the chance to struggle and overcome mistakes. Sometimes we want to help so much that we forget that it there is a dignity in being allowed to fail and recover from mistakes. Here are some tips:
Keep the same expectations for her classroom behavior and performance that you would for any other student. It is best if reminders/consequences for poor choices in the classroom come from you rather than from the teacher of the visually impaired.
Name students when calling on them so that the student knows who is speaking. Encourage other students to say their name when they are greeting or talking to him or her (Hi Tammy. It’s Corey.)
There are things you do in the classroom that will visually cue the sighted students but may require some narration on your part in order for the student to feel included and know what is happening. For instance, you might say “I’m getting our next activity ready to hand out.” Using an auditory signal such as clapping (rather than a raised hand) to indicate that you want silence from the students, is helpful.
The student should be expected to sit with his head up and her body and face pointed toward you when you are doing group instruction.
Provide verbal descriptions of things that are happening in other parts of the classroom so that the student does not miss activities that are occurring at a distance.
Encourage the student's peers to give her feedback if he or she does or says something that upsets them so that she can understand the social consequences of her words and actions (ex. "You hit me with your cane and it hurt.”).
Other students sometimes have the tendency to direct questions and statements to the teacher of the visually impaired or classroom teacher when the student is the best person to answer the question. Gently redirect the student to ask the student the question directly.
The biggest challenge is making sure that the student is accountable for his work. Just in Case You Have Time... You probably won't have time, but these are some good memoirs written by adults who have experienced vision loss at some point in their lives. As a teacher with typical sight, I find that it's helpful to listen to their voices and stories:
The Role of Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments and Orientation and Mobility Instructor My role is to:
To give you information the student's visual impairment and its implications for the classroom.
To provide suggestions for adaptations/modifications within the classroom.
To modify and prepare materials (we will transcribe worksheets into braille and will also adapt any other materials/activities—for instance, we might need to make a tactile version of a science game). You can give us materials to adapt at our weekly check in meetings or we can set up a box within the classroom for you to place materials.
To work one on one with the student within the classroom as appropriate.
To maintain and provide assistance/training the student's assistive technology.
To work directly with the student on Braille (as it relates to reading and math), assistive technology, social skills, independent living skills and travel skills.